The Adventures of Cloudclan 003
by SkyWaterfire02
Summary: Cloudclan's territory is being destroyed by twolegs, and time is running out for the clan. How will the clan win against the kittypets? And what will they do when two of their members betray them?
1. Chapter 1

The Adventures of Cloudclan 003

In the heart of a deep, deep, forest, there lives a great clan of cats. These cats are noble, fearless, and loyal. They will fight to the death to defend their clan. And in times of trouble, they call upon Starclan, the clan of great cat spirits, to help them. This is Cloudclan.

"_Cloudclan, attack!" _

Sunstar's battle cry was met with jingling of kittypet collars. Kittypets, cats who lived with Twolegs, swarmed through the forest onto the grassy plain, which served as the battlefield, and the tiny clan of Cloudclan stood to face them.

"Don't be scared, warriors. They're just kittypets. We can take them," said Rosepetal reassuringly.

"I'm not so sure," cautioned Snowfang. "Not all kittypets are soft. Some can be very dangerous, and these kittypets don't look like they're fooling around."

Ever since the Twolegs had started expanding their territory into the woods, cutting down trees in the process, the clan's life was difficult with scarce prey and water, not to mention all the kittypets that had been brought along. And now here they were, fighting for their own land. Skyclaw and Vixenstep started partner fighting against a brown kittypet. Skyclaw bit down hard on her scruff.

"We can't lose," she said through a mouthful of fur. "We _cannot _lose our territory."

Suddenly an ear-splitting screech tore through the air. Gingerpaw collapsed to the ground, with her leg broken by an enemy cat.

"Gingerpaw!" Rosepetal cried. "I thought I told you not to fight anyone bigger than you!"

"I-I thought I could defeat him," Gingerpaw cringed. Moonshine and Cloverpelt were waiting on the side with herbs to tend to wounds on the battle grounds. Cloverpelt immediately rushed forward to care for her wound. While healing Gingerpaw, Moonshine and Cloverpelt wanted to help others' wounds, but they were so caught up with Gingerpaw's wound that they couldn't. Meanwhile, Waterpaw, Sunstar, and Rosepetal leapt out of trees and landed on a handful of kittypets, flattening them. Tulippaw was tackled by a bunch of kittypets, only to be saved by Snowfang. Sunstar was desperately clawing off a swarm of kittypets. Suddenly, she whirled around to find herself face to face with a fierce kittypet. She hissed at her.

"You should know better than to threaten Cloudclan!" she spat. Suddenly, the she-cat jumped and clamped her jaws around Sunstar's neck.

"Your flimsy clan has lost," she hissed. "Surrender now!" Sunstar looked around at her fighting clanmates. Many had injuries, and Gingerpaw was already severely injured. She couldn't risk anymore of her clanmates getting hurt or possibly killed. Struggling out of the she-cat's grasp, she called out the heart-wrenching cry.

"_Clanmates, retreat!" _Her voice echoed throughout the forest. The fighting stopped immeadiately. With one final hiss, the clan slowly retreated away. _We lost. _The realization pounded in Sunstar's head. The words replayed over and over again in her mind. _We lost. How could we have lost? _


	2. Chapter 2

Sunstar paced nervously on the Highrock.

"This was a battle we could not afford to lose. Our camp will soon be destroyed by Twolegs!"

"Twolegs are cutting down our forest as we speak!" panicked Ivyblaze.

"I hate Twolegs!" snarled Gingerpaw. "They think they can do whatever they want!"

"How are we going to get food?!" wailed Waterpaw. Sunstar looked desperately at her clanmates.

"Can't we do another attack?" pleaded Moonshine. "I hate the idea of sending my clanmates into battle, but we can't give up on our clan."

"We know some new battle tactics we could try," added Rosepetal. Sunstar looked at the cats.

"Very well," she said. "We will start to train using these new tactics. Snowfang and Rosepetal, train the apprentices for battle. As for Gingerpaw," she said, nodding to the medicine cat's den. "Heal quickly." Gingerpaw nodded, her leg smothered with cobweb and oak leaves, since there was a shortage of herbs in the forest.

"Alright then," Snowfang said. "Come on. Let's go train!" Snowfang, Rosepetal, and Waterpaw started towards what was left of the back of the forest. Tulippaw sat back, unmoving. Rosepetal turned back.

"Tulippaw?" she mewed. "What are you doing? Come on, we need to practice these new battle strategies." Tulippaw looked around nervously, then said "I-I-I can't."

"What in Starclan's name are you meowing about? What do you mean you can't?" Snowfang questioned. Tulippaw gulped.

"I no longer wish to be part of the clan," she said clearly.

"W-w-what?!" cried Waterpaw. "Tulippaw you _can't!" _

"The kittypets are obviously stronger than us. There's no point in staying with a lost clan," Tulippaw continued. "I have decided I will join the kittypets and find a Twoleg to take care of me."

"You traitor!" cried Gingerpaw, struggling to get up. "How dare you abandon the clan?"

"Gingerpaw!" Cloverpelt scolded, shoving her back down on the forest floor. "You know you can't use that leg until it heals!" Sunstar leapt down from the highrock.

"You're not gonna make me stay, are you?" asked Tulippaw. Sunstar shook her head.

"No clan can keep a cat who no longer wishes to serve," said Sunstar. "But think carefully. Do you really want to leave your clan?"

"I've made up my mind," Tulippaw spoke firmly.

"Fine! I don't need you!" Gingerpaw cried. "I've got Waterpaw instead!" Waterpaw shuffled her paws nervously.

"Actually," she choked out. "Actually- I'm going with Tulippaw."

"What?!" Vixenstep cried. "_Two _apprentices leaving?"

"This is the last thing we need when we're about to go into battle!" Skyclaw moaned. Tulippaw and Waterpaw glanced at each other, and then started walking away.

"Sunstar, stop them!" Ivyblaze cried. Sunstar shook her head.

"There is nothing I can do. Let them go," she said sorrowfully. As the two young apprentices walked away, their former clanmates glared at them as if they no longer knew them. Waterpaw and Tulippaw glanced at the clan one last time before disappearing into the green foliage.


	3. Chapter 3

While the rest of the clan was sleeping, Sunstar, Moonshine, and Cloverpelt were having a private meeting.

"I don't understand," Sunstar was saying. "Two fewer apprentices is the last thing we need right now. How could Starclan let this happen?"

"I think the real question is how could Starclan just abandon us?" Cloverpelt snarled.

"Cloverpelt!" Moonshine scolded. "Starclan will always be there for us!"

"Well they weren't much today, were they?" Cloverpelt pointed out. Sunstar turned to Moonshine.

"Do you think this was a sign from Starclan?"

"I don't know," Moonshine admitted. "Maybe we should all just go to our nests. If Starclan wants to tell us something, they'll send us a dream." And so the three cats departed to their nests. In the leader's den, Sunstar pressed her nose to the cold Moonstone pendant in the den. This pendant was her direct line to Starclan. She prayed for a sign, and then fell asleep. It felt like Sunstar had just closed her eyelids when she awakened into a starry meadow. Standing before her was a pure white tom.

"Cleo!" she cried out with joy. She ran up to rub muzzles with him. "Oh Cleo, I've missed you so much!" Cleo's eyes blazed intently.

"Sunstar," he said. "I have a very important message for you, and I don't have much time to tell you." Sunstar nodded.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Starclan is retreating," he said gravely. "So shall you, but only for victory." Cleo's figure started to fade.

"Cleo, wait!" Sunstar cried. "I don't understand! What does it mean?"

"Lead your clan well," was all Cleo said. And then he faded back into the stars.

Sunstar's eyes bolted open. She was no longer in the field, but back in her nest. The dawn sunlight was slowly creeping into the den, glistening on the pendant. Sunstar darted out of the den and into the medicine cat's den, interrupting Moonshine, who was putting a fresh poultice on Gingerpaw's leg.

"Moonshine!" she cried. "Starclan sent me a message!" Moonshine looked up from her work.

"Cloverpelt," she said. "Could you handle this? I need to speak with Sunstar." As Cloverpelt put on the poultice, Sunstar and Moonshine walked to the corner of camp. Moonshine's eyes blazed with hope.

"What did they say?' she asked.

"It was Cleo who sent the message," Sunstar replied. "He said 'Starclan is retreating. So shall you, but only for victory.' Do you know what it means?"

"No," Moonshine said blankly. "It doesn't make any sense. How can Starclan be retreating? And how can it mean victory? When cats retreat, doesn't it mean they've lost?" Sunstar clawed the ground.

"It's got to mean something!" she cried.

"I'll think about what it means," Moonshine said. "You should just worry about your daily tasks." Suddenly the dawn patrol, led by Ivyblaze, emerged.

"Okay," Vixenstep said. "We've got some good news and some bad news."

"What's the good news?" Sunstar asked.

"Actually, there is no good news," Ivyblaze corrected. "It's all bad."

"Oh joy," grumbled Snowfang.

"First of all, the Twolegs are moving closer," said Ivyblaze.

"What?!" cried Rosepetal.

"It's only a matter of time before they reach the camp," Ivyblaze stated solemnly.

"And also, Skyclaw's throat is irritated from all the smoke the Twoleg monsters make," added Vixenstep. Skyclaw's loud cough was heard in the back.

"Oh you poor thing," Moonshine said. "Don't worry; I'll fetch some honey for your throat right away. Cloverpelt!" she called. "We need some honey!" Cloverpelt's head popped out from the den.

"We don't have any honey," Cloverpelt called back. "The smoke from the monsters has been driving away all the bees."

"Well then," Moonshine said. "I suppose I'll get some more."

"Are you sure?" asked Rosepetal. "We can't spare any warriors to go on a patrol with you to defend you."

"Oh, don't worry about me," Moonshine said with a wave of her tail. "I'll be fine. I can fight, you know." And then she was off. Moonshine walked for what seemed like ages, but she didn't find any nests. Eventually, she had to walk off of Cloudclan territory, forcing her into an unknown part of the forest. She was just about to turn around and give up, when she heard a faint buzzing sound. A bee's nest! Quickly, she found the nest in a tree and started to climb. "I hope there's mud nearby for all the stings I'm going to get," she stated. "The things I do for my clan!" Moonshine started to reach inside the nest. "Ouch!" One sting. She moved closer to the nest. Closer, closer. "Ow!" Two stings. If she could just reach in a little further…

Suddenly her weight shifted to a weak spot on the branch. The nest, the branch, and Moonshine all collapsed. The bees all flew away in panic. Moonshine was pulling stingers out of her paw and neck when something caught her attention. Three cats. Three ghostly cats were staring at her. Two were too far away to be seen, but one, a pure black she-cat, was up close. Moonshine did not recognize any of them.

"Hello?" she said. "Who are you?" There was no reply. Moonshine backed away and looked up. In the sky, a grey she-cat with black stripes and spots was looking at her. Her harsh green eyes were unreadable. She wore Sunstar's moonstone pendant. Moonshine gasped. Was she hallucinating? She shook her head. The cats were gone. She looked up again. Everything was how it had been before. Scared now, Moonshine started running back to camp. She was about halfway there when she realized she'd forgotten the honey.


	4. Chapter 4

Later that evening, after Skyclaw's throat had been healed, Ivyblaze decided to go hunting. She wasn't expecting to catch anything, as twoleg monsters had scared away all the prey. She just wanted to at least try to feed the clan. She quickly noticed movement. Squirrel! A fat squirrel was eating an acorn. She started stalking it. Slowly, carefully. She could not miss this squirrel. She was almost a whisker's length away when suddenly the squirrel's ears perked and the squirrel darted away. Ivyblaze straightened up. What had scared it? Ivyblaze suddenly heard pawsteps and whispers. Kittypets! She leapt through the foliage to find Waterpaw and Tulippaw with a dead bird.

"We can't take prey from Cloudclan's territory!" Tulippaw was saying.

"Look Tulippaw," Waterpaw snapped. "The kittypets said we have to hunt for ourselves until we get our own Twoleg. We're taking this bird!" Ivyblaze leapt from underneath a bush.

"Prey-stealers!" she hissed. Waterpaw and Tulippaw's eyes blazed with guilt.

"Run Waterpaw, run!" Tulippaw screeched.

"You don't get away that easily!" Ivyblaze snarled. She had almost caught up to them when something caught her eye. A huge monster's claw was about to land flat on top of her. Ivyblaze gasped and ran away. Just when she thought she was safe- thwack! The claw crushed her hind paw. Ivyblaze screeched in pain. The two apprentices stared at her for a second, horrified, and then ran away. A twoleg came out the monster and started toward Ivyblaze. Ivyblaze disappeared into the forest. Slowly, she started to crawl her way back to camp.

It took Ivyblaze the whole night to crawl back to camp. Early at dawn, a search party went out and found her covered in leaves and brambles. Quickly, they brought her back to camp. Meanwhile, Moonshine and Cloverpelt were letting Gingerpaw test her leg again.

"Don't walk too quickly," Moonshine warned. "We don't want your leg to get hurt again."

"Don't worry," Gingerpaw said. "I can walk fine now." Just then, the search patrol of Snowfang and Vixenstep arrived, carrying Ivyblaze.

"We have an injured cat!" Snowfang screeched.

"_Another _injury?" Clovereplt whined. "We just finished healing Gingerpaw! Can't we have a break?" Moonshine bounded forward.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Well, I was out hunting, and I caught Waterpaw and Tulippaw stealing prey," Ivyblaze said.

"How could they?" Gingerpaw hissed.

"I chased them through the woods, but then a monster hit my paw," she continued.

"And Waterpaw and Tulippaw didn't even try to help? So much for clan loyalty!" Skyclaw scowled.

"Well remember, they're not part of the clan anymore," Sunstar reminded her. Then she padded over to Ivyblaze. "Come on," she said. "Let's get you to the medicine cat's den."

Later that night, Sunstar was talking to Moonshine. "Any ideas on what the prophecy means?" Sunstar asked. Moonshine shook her head.

"No, none." She replied. "All I do know is that we must heal Ivyblaze quickly, so that we can attack the kittypets. Hopefully we can drive them out, and when the Twolegs find their kittypets scarred and beaten, maybe they'll want to leave."

Sunstar nodded.

"Whatever we do, Starclan will light our path."


	5. Chapter 5

"_Cloudclan, attack!"_ It was the second time Sunstar had called out the battle cry. The clanmates ran onto the field, knowing that if they lost this battle, they would lose their territory for good. One kittypet cornered Sunstar.

"You fool!" she hissed. "I thought you'd learned your lesson the last time. But if you want to get another beating…"

"It's not us who'll get the beating this time," snarled Sunstar Screeching, the two cats fought. Gingerpaw was darting over cats, this time being careful who she fought. Suddenly, she ran into Waterpaw and Tulippaw.

"Traitors!" she screeched, and lunged at them.

"Gingerpaw, wait!" Tulippaw cried. "We're not fighting against you. We want to come back to the clan."

"I don't believe you! You're kittypets now!" Gingerpaw hissed.

"We really miss clan life," Waterpaw mewed.

"You should have thought of that before you left!" Gingerpaw scowled.

"But Gingerpaw, we brought help!" Waterpaw said. Gingerpaw stiffened. "We brought our friends, Paylor and Scruffy to help!" Waterpaw continued. Paylor and Scruffy were friends of the clan. They padded forward.

"We're here to help," said Scruffy.

"And," Waterpaw mewed. "We also brought a new friend, Shadow." From behind them, a pure black she-cat emerged.

"Hello," the she-cat said shyly. Gingerpaw looked at the cats, and then took them to Sunstar.

"Sunstar," Gingerpaw said. "Waterpaw and Tulippaw want to rejoin the clan. And they brought help." Sunstar eyed the cats for a moment, and then spoke.

"Alright," she said. She pointed to Paylor, Shadow, and Scruffy. "You three guard the camp. Waterpaw, Tulippaw, and Gingerpaw, you fight in the battle."

As time went on, the battle became more intense. Each side was determined to win. Moonshine and Cloverpelt were tending to Vixenstep's eye, which had been scratched and was swollen shut. Cloverpelt was nervously watching the battle. Suddenly, she felt like someone was watching her. She turned to face Cinnamon's spirit.

"Cinnamon!" she cried.

"Cloverpelt," he said quickly. "There is nothing to be won here. The clan must retreat and find new territory. Tell Moonshine and Rosepetal that I miss them." And then he faded away. Quickly Cloverpelt told Moonshine Cinnamon's message, and they rushed to Sunstar.

"Sunstar!" Moonshine hissed. "Tell the clan to retreat, now! We cannot keep our territory; we must find a new place to live." Just as the words came out of her mouth, Moonshine realized what the prophecy meant. Starclan had been telling them not to go into battle, but to retreat to find a new home. _"Retreat for victory." _It all made sense!

"Cloudclan, retreat!" Sunstar cried out. The clan stopped fighting, and cries of confusion rang out.

"What?!" Rosepetal hissed. "Do you want the clan to lose?" she spat.

"No," Moonshine said flatly. "We want the clan to _live._ Starclan set us a sign to find a new home. If we keep fighting, cats will die, and then there will be no clan to fight for." Skyclaw looked sad.

"I'm gonna miss our old territory," she sighed. "But it's for the best to leave." Quickly, the clan rushed back to camp. There, the three kittypets were waiting.

"Did you win?" Shadow asked. Ivyblaze shook her head.

"Those mangy kittypets can have our forest. The twolegs are going to destroy it anyway. We're going to find new land."

"You mean you're leaving?" Paylor asked sadly.

"Yes, we're leaving," Moonshine said.

"You don't suppose you could come with us, could you?" asked Gingerpaw hopefully.

"No," said Paylor. "Our twoleg would worry about us."

"Goodbye then, Paylor and Scruffy," Sunstar said. And then they left.

"I guess this means you're leaving too," Tulippaw said to Shadow.

"Actually," Shadow said. "I think I'll stay with you guys. Clan life looks really cool!"

"What about your twolegs?" Waterpaw asked.

"They'll be fine," Shadow said. "They can get a new cat."

Moonshine looked at Shadow and suddenly recognized her. She was the black cat she'd seen in the forest! And Tulippaw and Waterpaw had been the other two cats!

"The three cats…" she murmured.

"What did you say?" asked Cloverpelt.

"I saw 3 cats in the forest while I was collecting honey," Moonshine said. "I thought I was dreaming, but I wasn't! Shadow was one of the cats! It was another sign from Starclan!" Turning to Shadow, she said "You will help us find our new territory!" Shadow blinked.

"Well," she started. "Well- oh, I know! When my Twolegs brought me here, we passed a large forest with a mountain range in the distance. It's that way!" she said, pointing with her tail.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Rosepetal exclaimed. And so they left.


	6. Chapter 6

The clan traveled for a quarter moon, following Shadow's instructions. Along the way, the medicine cats were healing Vixenstep's eye. They traveled until finally, they reached their promised land.

"We're here," Vixenstep breathed as they overlooked the landscape. It was a huge forest dotted with swamps, streams, and ponds. In the center was a huge lake. And in the distance, just like Shadow said, there was a vast mountain range. Suddenly, Sunstar floated off the ground and into the stars.

"Sunstar!" Rosepetal cried!

"What's happening?" wailed Tulippaw. The cats waited and waited for something to happen, anything. Finally, a cat was lowered back to the ground. But this cat did not look like Sunstar. This cat was not white with grey eyes, like Sunstar had been. This cat was grey with black stripes and spots, and green eyes. She wore Sunstar's moonstone pendant. The only similarity they had was that this cat had the same jay's feather hanging from her ear as Sunstar. Moonshine flinched, realizing this was the cat she'd seen in the sky.

"S-Sunstar? I-is that you?" stammered Ivyblaze. The cat nodded. "You've changed- a lot," Ivyblaze commented.

"I have become a different cat to represent our new territory," the cat said. "But I no longer will be called Sunstar. I am Silverstar."

"Sun- I mean, Silverstar, your moonstone pendant!" Moonshine gasped. "I thought we'd left it back at our old camp!"

"And now I have reclaimed it," Silverstar said. "As my first act as the leader of this territory, I will change some more names." She padded over to Tulippaw and Waterpaw. "Waterpaw and Tulippaw," she said. "You abandoned the clan, but then rejoined. Do you swear that you will never again leave, and that your loyalty will forever remain to the clan? This is your last chance. If you leave again, you can't come back." Tulippaw and Waterpaw glanced at each other.

"We promise to be loyal," they said.

"Then I will rename you, to represent your new loyalty. Tulippaw, from this day on until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Goldenpaw. Waterpaw, from this day on until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Lotuspaw. And lastly, it is time we welcome a new clanmate. Shadow, for helping us find a new territory, you will become my apprentice."

Snowfang gasped. Being the leader's apprentice was a _huge _honor.

"Shadow, from this day on until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Shadowpaw." SIlverstar said.

"Goldenpaw! Lotuspaw! Shadowpaw! Goldenpaw! Lotuspaw! Shadowpaw!" the clan cheered. Silverstar waved her tail for silence.

"Our clan has quickly gone through many changes. We have been given new land and new hope. Some have been renamed. And though I may look different, I will lead the clan with the same strength as when I was known as Sunstar," SIlverstar announced. "In this new land, we will become a new clan. We will be stronger, more loyal, better. Starclan will lead us well. We will create the new Cloudclan!"

The cats erupted into cheers. Yowls of joy were heard as cats drew the Cloudclan symbol into the ground. They celebrated until Rosepetal leapt onto the highrock.

"Okay cats," she said. "I hate to break it to you, but new land means we need to build our camp, and we need to create a fresh-kill pile! Time to start hunting and building patrols!"


End file.
